Paul Pierce cost us that game

[Andy Jick]

i think part of pierces problem has been fatigue.  he has absolutely busted his tail trying to guard lebron, and done an overall excellent job (tho, tonight was the first night lebron really went off).

but lebron played nearly the entire game, and he looked fine...

pierce needs to make lebron work as hard on defense as he has to, and he's NOT doing this.  great players move withOUT the basketball - watch that last quarter and you'll see a lot of standing around.  the easiest guy to guard is the one who doesn't move.

[GroverTheClover]

Our team isn't as smart as theirs. Why would you stop attacking the rim on the road? I really do not understand how these supposed "vets" don't understand how to attack the rim. The Celtics are partially responsible for the free throw disparity because they refuse to attack the rim. Enough with the jump shots. They need to get to the rim and get the Cavs in the penalty. And Mr. Pierce, please, please, stop with the spinning into two defenders and throwing a cross court pass. We're taught in AAU ball to never throw cross court passes.

[Bankshot]

i think part of pierces problem has been fatigue.  he has absolutely busted his tail trying to guard lebron, and done an overall excellent job (tho, tonight was the first night lebron really went off).

but lebron played nearly the entire game, and he looked fine...

pierce needs to make lebron work as hard on defense as he has to, and he's NOT doing this.  great players move withOUT the basketball - watch that last quarter and you'll see a lot of standing around.  the easiest guy to guard is the one who doesn't move.

Lebron is 23 years old.

[drza44]

Let me start by saying that LeBron James is a physical beast, and is one of the most difficult 1-on-1 matchups in the NBA.

That said...he is not an excuse for Pierce shooting 36% with 20 turnovers in 6 games.  He is not an excuse for Pierce going from an offensive impact player to an inconsistent shooter that makes questionable decisions and looks more like option 3 on a good team than the offensive captain on a contender.  LeBron has never been considered a lock-down defender, but all of a sudden he can just remove Pierce from the game?  I don't buy it.

Caron Butler, who most here would consider at best a peer of Pierce (in fact, I'd wager that the majority here consider Pierce better) managed to shoot 46% and have his own moments of brilliance when he outshined LeBron.  And Butler had to spend just as much energy on the defense end as Pierce...probably more, in fact, since he doesn't have nearly as much defensive help from his teammates as Pierce gets from the other Celtics.

All season the Celtics' roles were pretty consistent...KG ruled the defense and was the co-main option on offense, Pierce was the offensive centerpiece that also played well on defense, and Allen was a bit of a glue guy that helped keep the team stable and was ready to knock down big shots when called upon.  In this playoffs only one of the three has played their part, and it hasn't been Pierce...

[EJPLAYA]

i think part of pierces problem has been fatigue.  he has absolutely busted his tail trying to guard lebron, and done an overall excellent job (tho, tonight was the first night lebron really went off).

but lebron played nearly the entire game, and he looked fine...

pierce needs to make lebron work as hard on defense as he has to, and he's NOT doing this.  great players move withOUT the basketball - watch that last quarter and you'll see a lot of standing around.  the easiest guy to guard is the one who doesn't move.

Lebron is 23 years old.

Yes, and Lebron is in great shape and PP is not. KG played only 4 minutes less than Lebron did and is 32 yrs old. He managed just fine. He also is in great shape. If we end up losing this year I sure hope PP decides to come back in the type of shape needed to sustain a higher level of play all game. It's not a huge deal in the regular season, but playoffs require an extra gear that wears you down faster. Those in great shape can keep up. Those that don't hit ONE shot in the 4th quarter when your team needs you the most.

[Scintan]

he kept us on the game.. he made bad decisions, got some tough calls but he made the shots to keep us in it

lebron still didnt shoot well, even if he scored a lot this game

He made ONE shot in the 4th quarter. Only three in the entire second half. Where are you getting all these big shots he hit to keep us in the game?!

Lebron on the other hand was smart enough to get to the line and hit 13-15. PP took 4 shots from the line. Sure Lebron is going to get more calls, but he can go to the basket and get more than 4 all game. When you aren't shooting well you have to get to the line. Obviously our star isn't as smart as theirs...

It's tough for Pierce to get to the line when the officials are making calls like that Charge.

[WedmanIsMyHero]

Pierce didn't cost the Celtics the game.  Doc did.  The Celtics would not have been a position where one call would have mattered if not for Doc's crazy rotations.  Or as Bill Simmons said earlier this week:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080514

"DOC: Fellas, I want you to know that I'm gonna keep doing the same things I've done for the entire playoffs -- showing you guys up on the sidelines after every mistake, blaming everyone but myself after we lose, making crazy adjustments that have no relation to one another from game to game, yanking our rotation around, losing my composure with referees in pivotal moments, and throwing you guys under the bus to the TNT announcers between games when they ask me why you aren't playing."

[EJPLAYA]

he kept us on the game.. he made bad decisions, got some tough calls but he made the shots to keep us in it

lebron still didnt shoot well, even if he scored a lot this game

He made ONE shot in the 4th quarter. Only three in the entire second half. Where are you getting all these big shots he hit to keep us in the game?!

Lebron on the other hand was smart enough to get to the line and hit 13-15. PP took 4 shots from the line. Sure Lebron is going to get more calls, but he can go to the basket and get more than 4 all game. When you aren't shooting well you have to get to the line. Obviously our star isn't as smart as theirs...

It's tough for Pierce to get to the line when the officials are making calls like that Charge.

Yeah. That ONE charge all game that was at the very end of the ball game was the reason he didn't go to the rim. Come on. That's nonsense. He just can't get around Lebron. He should be driving and dishing if he can't draw a foul. Not forcing up crap.

[Scintan]

he kept us on the game.. he made bad decisions, got some tough calls but he made the shots to keep us in it

lebron still didnt shoot well, even if he scored a lot this game

He made ONE shot in the 4th quarter. Only three in the entire second half. Where are you getting all these big shots he hit to keep us in the game?!

Lebron on the other hand was smart enough to get to the line and hit 13-15. PP took 4 shots from the line. Sure Lebron is going to get more calls, but he can go to the basket and get more than 4 all game. When you aren't shooting well you have to get to the line. Obviously our star isn't as smart as theirs...

It's tough for Pierce to get to the line when the officials are making calls like that Charge.

Yeah. That ONE charge all game that was at the very end of the ball game was the reason he didn't go to the rim. Come on. That's nonsense. He just can't get around Lebron. He should be driving and dishing if he can't draw a foul. Not forcing up crap.

If the officials aren't giving a player calls on contact, exactly how is it supposed to be smart for that player to drive the lane, especially against the tall front court that Cleveland has? 

[EJPLAYA]

he kept us on the game.. he made bad decisions, got some tough calls but he made the shots to keep us in it

lebron still didnt shoot well, even if he scored a lot this game

He made ONE shot in the 4th quarter. Only three in the entire second half. Where are you getting all these big shots he hit to keep us in the game?!

Lebron on the other hand was smart enough to get to the line and hit 13-15. PP took 4 shots from the line. Sure Lebron is going to get more calls, but he can go to the basket and get more than 4 all game. When you aren't shooting well you have to get to the line. Obviously our star isn't as smart as theirs...

It's tough for Pierce to get to the line when the officials are making calls like that Charge.

Yeah. That ONE charge all game that was at the very end of the ball game was the reason he didn't go to the rim. Come on. That's nonsense. He just can't get around Lebron. He should be driving and dishing if he can't draw a foul. Not forcing up crap.

If the officials aren't giving a player calls on contact, exactly how is it supposed to be smart for that player to drive the lane, especially against the tall front court that Cleveland has? 

Because #1 that is often who gets whistled for the foul, and #2 when they rotate to block the shot you also have an open man to dish to. Otherwise you shot jumpers and then it is the team's fault they didn't shoot free throws and not the refs. The refs can only be blamed when you bail them out by not driving in there in the first place.

[Scintan]

Because #1 that is often who gets whistled for the foul, and #2 when they rotate to block the shot you also have an open man to dish to. Otherwise you shot jumpers and then it is the team's fault they didn't shoot free throws and not the refs. The refs can only be blamed when you bail them out by not driving in there in the first place.

If they aren't calling the foul, you don't get the foul.  That's just common sense.  Come on, now. 

Pierce isn't playing well offensively this series, but point to legitimate gripes rather than complaining about an area where he's clearly getting short shrift by the officials.

[EJPLAYA]

Because #1 that is often who gets whistled for the foul, and #2 when they rotate to block the shot you also have an open man to dish to. Otherwise you shot jumpers and then it is the team's fault they didn't shoot free throws and not the refs. The refs can only be blamed when you bail them out by not driving in there in the first place.

If they aren't calling the foul, you don't get the foul.  That's just common sense.  Come on, now. 

Pierce isn't playing well offensively this series, but point to legitimate gripes rather than complaining about an area where he's clearly getting short shrift by the officials.

How do you know they aren't calling the foul if he doesn't drive to the basket?!?! That's common sense. You have to MAKE the refs call the contact. You can't get the short shrift (whatever that is) if you settle for outside jumpers. First Quarter he took 1 shot at the rim. 7 shots were jumpers. 2nd quarter he took no shots at the rim and 1 jumper. 3rd quarter no shots at the rim and 4 jumpers. 4th quarter 1 shot at the rim and 2 jumpers.

2 shots he took to the basket!!! Out of 15!!! Don't blame the refs for not making calls they can't make. He didn't go to the rim. If he chooses not to then it's his own fault. Lebron took 7 shots at the rim. That's not including the ones that he got fouled on that don't count as shots if he doesn't make them. Now you know why Lebron got to the line and PP didn't.

[Scintan]

How do you know they aren't calling the foul if he doesn't drive to the basket?!?! That's common sense. You have to MAKE the refs call the contact. You can't get the short shrift (whatever that is) if you settle for outside jumpers. First Quarter he took 1 shot at the rim. 7 shots were jumpers. 2nd quarter he took no shots at the rim and 1 jumper. 3rd quarter no shots at the rim and 4 jumpers. 4th quarter 1 shot at the rim and 2 jumpers.

2 shots he took to the basket!!! Out of 15!!! Don't blame the refs for not making calls they can't make. He didn't go to the rim. If he chooses not to then it's his own fault. Lebron took 7 shots at the rim. That's not including the ones that he got fouled on that don't count as shots if he doesn't make them. Now you know why Lebron got to the line and PP didn't.

LeBron got to the line and PP didn't because the officials gave LeBron the calls and didn't give them to Pierce.  Pierce didn't just dribble/drive only twice and stand still the rest of the game.  He had the ball on the floor and wasn't getting contact called.

Look, I'm not going to continue on this with you.  I saw what I saw, and you claim to have seen something different.  I'll just leave off by saying that blaming Pierce for the loss is ridiculous, given all the factors that joined together in this Boston loss.

[Bahku]

We're on the same page most of the time EJ, but we don't come down on the same side with this one. There's plenty of blame to go around with this loss: Rondo, Perk, PJ, and Posey barely showed up for this one with 7 points between the four of them, Ray was a major disappointment again, the refs made some of the worst calls of the season, (especially that charge ... wow), some of the plays from time-outs were complete head-scratchers, the free-throw discrepency was ridiculous, and Pierce struggled with 6 turnovers and only 3 assists ... failing to do on a regular basis what he does best: penetrate the paint and create inside. However, despite the stats, he should get props for the job he's done defending LeBron. LB has struggled more this series than I've ever seen him struggle before, and Paul is the difference. Pierce was indeed an element to this loss, but FAR from the only one, or even the biggest one.

[wdleehi]

Pierce didn't get calls (Celtics got the 'away end of this')


The bad.  The early jumpshots.  The bad TOs.



The good, he attacked for a big portion of the game.  He should have gone to the line at least 4 more shots.